Yay
Nay
So was I the only one dumb enough to watch this? Figured as much.
I was reminded a bit of True Detective season 2 in that it's an artistically ambitious thriller without a solid story to rest on. Then again, maybe the whole thing was a tax evasion gimmick because who'd want to produce this screenplay? It needs at least three more drafts.
I've liked everything hes made thus far, so I'll still be watching it at some point.
Macon Blair's script, yikes. I was mildly amused by I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, but it turns out when deprived of humor, his sensiblity of Weighty, Thematically Significant Grimness can sink a whole film. Watchable only for Saulnier's usual formal chops (maybe his best-looking film yet, and that mid-film shootout is one gnarly set-piece). 4.5/10
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
From my Letterboxd:
34/100
Saulnier's two previous films were able to balance their nihilistic streak with a messy levity springing from a collection of characters thrown into situations in which they have to think fast to get out of alive. Here though, all of the energy and inquisitiveness is drained away, and we are left with slow hushed exchanges and portentous establishing shots, and Jeffrey Wright sleepwalking through a story that has no real use for him. The shootout is supposed to be the centerpiece, but when it relies on a bunch of grown men choosing to stand up out of their cover so that a man with a big fuck off automatic weapon can mow them down at convenient intervals, it struggles to be much more than a frustrating missed opportunity
I can see thinking differently about the movie if I cared for a second what Skaarsgad and Keough's were all about, but I didn't so I didn't. All I had to look forward to was seeing them wiped off the cinematic map so that Saulnier could regroup and make something decent a couple of years down the line.... and, well....
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
Big disappointment after what Saulnier has done so far. It's just such a slog to get through, despite an interesting idea and setting. I'd have much rathered see Wright chase after actual wolves than what happens once Skarsgaard enters.